Testing Baby Gluten

[KHumphrey]

Hello,

I am 31 weeks pregnant and do not have celiac disease. However, my husband does and was diagnosed when he was little. I'm not clear on how we can test the baby to see if the baby has celiac when born. Anybody have any idea. The advice we got previously was to keep the child off gluten for 2 years and then do a blood test after 2 years. That seems like a long time to wait.

I'm also wondering whether I need to eat gluten-free when breastfeeding? I haven't been while I am pregnant and the baby seems to be doing well so far.

[buffettbride]

In order for the blood tests to be indicative of Celiac disease, your child would need to eat gluten. Your child will get some gluten if you are eating gluten and breastfeeding. Celiac needs a trigger, so it's possible your child will have at least one of the Celiac genes, but never develop the disease.

I don't know what I would do in that situation, but I would probably breastfeed (not being gluten free), and delay the introduction of wheat/oatmeal (stick with rice cereal, when you decide to introduce). Then, watch for symptoms, knowing that Celiac could be a possibility. You could have your child tested for the Celiac genes after birth and then you'd know that you might have to look for symptoms as well.

[Ursa Major]

To be on the safe side, you may consider going gluten-free while pregnant. That is what my daughter did, because the baby has two grandmothers with celiac disease.

She fed her older child (who is now 16 months old) gluten foods for way too long, though. That child NEVER had a solid bowel movement after being weaned and eating solids, until she took her off gluten last week. She'd have total blowouts several times a day, after every meal (I didn't know, as they don't live close, and she was in denial). She also started having terrible temper tantrums not long after being introduced to bread, crackers and pasta.

When my daughter finally smartened up and started feeding her gluten-free foods, she had a solid bm by the next day, and her temper tantrums stopped!

Anyway, just to show you that it is relatively easy to figure out if a baby has celiac disease or not. If you eat gluteny foods when the baby is being breastfed, you'll know if there is a problem with food as well. If you have a colicky baby (really, there is no such thing as colick, it is ALWAYS caused by food intolerances), you need to find out what is making the baby sick, and stop eating the offending foods.

My daughter now had to stop dairy, gluten and corn, as her new baby has tested sensitive to those as well (testing done by a naturopath).

And, surprise, she herself is suddenly feeling so much better, no more bloating and gas! It appears that she is gluten intolerant herself, which she refused to consider and would get mad at me for mentioning several times.

And the advice from the doctor to keep the baby gluten-free for two years and then do the blood test is ridiculous. If the child has never had gluten, it would obviously test negative, celiac disease or not. Then you'd be told the kid is fine to eat gluten, possibly making him/her sick.

I agree that a gene test would be a good idea, to give you a clue as to whether the child has the celiac disease genes.

[vanillazeis]

i have a 3 year old that is diagnosed with celiac. I also have a 9 month old. Bayleigh's gi dr told us to wait until 12 months to introduce the baby to gluten, and blood test him at 18 months. Hope that helps! good luck!

[kbtoyssni]

The other thing to be aware of is they baby might not have celiac at birth and might either develop it later in life or never get it. So it might be something that shows up at age 5 or 10 or 15. You never know when, so if he/she tests negative initially, it's still something to be aware of and watch for.

[KHumphrey]

Thanks for all the replies. It has been difficult to find information on this topic. My next step is to also advice our new pediatrician of the condition so we can monitor him.